Max Weinreich facts for kids

Max Weinreich (born April 22, 1894 – died January 29, 1969) was an important language expert. He was from the Russian Empire and later became an American citizen. Max Weinreich focused on sociolinguistics, which studies how language and society affect each other. He was also a leading expert on the Yiddish language. His son, Uriel Weinreich, also became a famous linguist.

Max Weinreich helped people understand Yiddish as a real, structured language. He is famous for saying, "A language is a dialect with an army and navy". This means that what we call a "language" often depends on political power, not just how it sounds.

Early Life and Education

Max Weinreich was born in Goldingen (now Kuldīga, Latvia). He started school there in a German-speaking environment. After four years, he moved to a different school in Libau (now Liepāja). He also lived in other cities like Daugavpils and Łódź.

From 1909 to 1912, Max lived in Saint Petersburg, Russia. There, he went to a private Jewish school for boys. Even though his family spoke German, he became very interested in the Yiddish language.

University Studies

In the early 1920s, Max Weinreich moved to Germany. He studied languages at universities in Berlin and Marburg. In 1923, he finished his main research project at the University of Marburg. This project was about the history and different forms of the Yiddish language. It was later published as "History of Yiddish Linguistics."

Founding YIVO

In 1925, Max Weinreich helped start an important organization called YIVO. YIVO stands for the Yiddish Scientific Institute. He co-founded it with Nochum Shtif, Elias Tcherikower, and Zalman Reisen.

Even though YIVO was officially started in Berlin, its main activities were in Wilno (now Vilnius, Lithuania). Wilno became YIVO's official home. Max Weinreich's own apartment in Wilno even had YIVO's first office! He was seen as a key leader for YIVO. Before World War II, he led the section that studied language.

Moving to America

When World War II began in 1939, Max Weinreich was in Denmark. He was with his wife, Regina Shabad Weinreich, and their older son, Uriel. Regina was the daughter of Zemach Shabad, a well-known doctor and Jewish leader from Wilno.

Regina went back to Vilnius for a short time. But Max and Uriel stayed abroad. They moved to New York City in March 1940. Later, Regina and their younger son, Gabriel, joined them in New York. Max Weinreich became a professor of Yiddish at City College of New York. He also helped restart YIVO in New York, continuing its important work.